The Fire Within
by Polkahotness
Summary: Eugene was always so positive in both life & its wonders. But what happens when his best friend reveals something he ISN'T positive about or even ready for? & what if that thing just so happens to be something he was never positive about in the first place? Get ready for everybody's favorite klutz to get his world flipped upside down in this soon-to-be classic coming of age tale.
1. Free Verse at its Finest

_**Hi everyone! Polkahotness back at it again with the fanfic writing and this time with a coming of age story with everybody's favorite klutz, Eugene! So read on and let me know what you think! Hope you enjoy!**_

* * *

All my life I'd always known I'd be a performer. Since before I can remember, life was always a gigantic musical just waiting for my next solo, even if I skipped a note here and there. All things aside, I've always had a happy life. I have parents who support me and, even if they are a tad paranoid of my 'klutzier' side, have never stopped coming to anything I've ever been a part of- no matter how small the role.

The only other person in my life as incredible as my parents would be Sheena, of course.

Sheena and I have lived our entire lives together since our parents became friends from across the hall at their apartment complex. Sheena was the ying to my yang, the peanut butter to my jelly and the best to my friend. Even when our families moved to homes more than a block from each other we practically lived at the others' house.

All was the same throughout most of elementary school until the sixth grade. Sheena began acting…different around me; even more so attached than we'd ever been which was fine for me. In my opinion, there was never enough time for extra friend time and if that's what Sheena needed or wanted, I was happy to provide my best-friend-services.

Yet years later, even at 14 Sheena hasn't quite kicked the habit. I assumed most of it was because of her father's passing just a couple years back, but even so it was odd for Sheena to suddenly pay so much attention to me; carrying my books so I wouldn't trip on my shoes, opening doors for me so I wouldn't stub my toes and even watching what I threw away at lunch to be sure I didn't toss my retainer like I had in the 7th grade when we had to dig through the dumpster just to retrieve it.

Sheena was still the butter to my bread and the peas to my carrots, but it never occurred to me just what she was up to until that day in Ms. Otterman's English class.

"Are you ready to go to, Eugene?" Sheena asked from beside my locker where she usually met me after lunch break, fourth period. Seeing as we had mostly the same schedule after that, we figured it was much more fun to walk with each other than separately on our way to classes together; our next one being fifth period English.

"Y-yea, yes, of course, Sheena. Just let me grab my book here and we-" but as fate would have it, the textbook came crashing down to smack me directly on my right foot; only causing me to leap up on one foot and hop slightly to remain balanced.

"Oh my gosh, Eugene!" Sheena screeched in her high-pitched tone, though I only smiled at her and shrugged.

"I'm okay, don't worry." With a solid shaking of my foot to regain some feeling back, I reached down to pick up his heavy textbook and offered my now-worried best friend a warm smile. "I'm all ready if you're ready," I announced with my free fist firmly planted on my hip awaiting Sheena to link arms with me, per usual; a new tradition Sheena had begun last semester that I found to be flattering and yet somehow….uncomfortable.

But Sheena was my best friend and I couldn't say no to making her day just even the slightest bit brighter and it seemed that linking arms in our announcement to the world of our friendship did just that.

If Sheena was down, than so was I, I'd decided.

And it seemed these days that Sheena always was.

* * *

As much as I loved communication, I found English to be a bit dull, only because I much preferred choir and drama class over the subject. My only home was that of the stage and it flowed through my veins like, well, blood.

The stage offered me solace in a way that words and reading never could, and as great of hobbies as they were for some people, they just weren't for me. Acting and singing were usually my downfall in such classes as English only because of presentations. A singing number here, a monologue there, throw in a few facts and the presentation was completely over with; an A looking me in the face at the end.

It was just so much easier to be somebody else in performance mode than to be my complete self up there, what with what half the school already said about the real me.

 _Hey, did you hear that Eugene is gay?_

 _I heard Eugene bats for the same team, if you catch my drift._

 _That Eugene and his gay routines. It's no wonder he's such a drama queen all the time_.

Gay— the ever-longing suspicion that had followed me since mid-sixth grade –it wasn't a term I was all that fond of hearing every day. Sure, I spent most of my time with Sheena and other females and sure I loved a good showtune here and there with a few dance steps in sync and all, but what theater kid didn't? It certainly didn't make me gay, did it? It made me a performer and that was one thing I knew I was.

I was sure of it.

Mostly sure of it, that is.

No, totally sure about it. Positive.

Not that it bothered me anyway; not all that much that is. I was pretty used to being called such things, sometimes even worse coming from the mouths of Harold or Helga.

Either way, English didn't hold much for me besides all the performances I was able to pull off. I only feared for the day I wasn't able to pull such a presentation off and was left with all I had next to offer: myself.

"Alright girls and boys," Ms. Otterman said as she began to pass out packets nearly 12 pages long and neatly stapled together in true Ms. Otterman fashion, "let's go ahead and partner yourselves off for our next poetry unit assignment, shall we?"

"Oh, boy! Did you hear that Eugene?" Sheena asked in a stage whisper from diagonally behind of where I was seated. "We get to choose our own partners today. Buddies?" she asked again and with a grin, I agreed.

After all, who better to team up with than my partner in not-so-much crime, Sheena? It isn't like there was anybody else more suited to partner up with me than my practical sister from another mister.

"Of course, Sheena," I whispered back which only made her giggle and gave me the sneaky feeling as though something was missing; something even my seemingly perfect partnership with my best friend couldn't fix.

* * *

Much like my music and dancing was an extension of myself, so was my room. Lined with posters of all the best musicals, musical icons, various playbills and backstage photos from nearly every performance I've ever done, my room was the room only anyone could imagine for myself.

Of course Sheena was used to it all and had never questioned my choice in Barbra Streisand music we usually played to help us concentrate when working together. If anything, she was the first to suggest music, Barbra or not, and I was always happy to oblige.

It wasn't like I didn't have most everything that had ever graced Broadway's holy stage.

Back in the day, before the entire friend-group of the neighborhood dissipated with puberty and foolish young love, my room was the only place we could go that would help us survive even the most random of life events; Sheena's father passing away, my mishap with my full body cast due to a crazy fall down my steps with a sleeping bag over my head, and even the time we both got lost from our school trip only to find everyone already on the bus and had to walk ourselves home to this very room. My space had always been our own little hideaway from life and while the world continues to spin just outside my door, it was inside that we both could really be ourselves and put it all out on the table.

"Okay Eugene," Sheena squeaked while flipping over the next page in the packet to begin reading aloud. "You and your partner(s) will write a poem each-" something I was already breaking down into a dance number inside my own head "-then share them with each other and analyze them on the following criteria: creativity…"

I found myself losing interest in Sheena's breakdown of the assignment and instead began to focus on the way she read each word in her high soprano voice as if it were dancing through the air to enter my ear like it had done so many other times before and yet somehow today, she sounded…different. There was an extra pep to her step as if she were planning a surprise like the birthday party she threw for me 2 years back that sent me to the ER after a wicked asthma attack.

No matter what her motives were this time around, I found that I couldn't stop focusing on what it could be that was making Sheena act so differently around me. I thought I knew everything there was to know about my best friend as if she were the back of my very own hand.

"Eugene?" She asked again and with a shake of my head, I returned to reality and looked at her with a smile.

"I'm sorry, Sheena, what did you say again?"

"I asked if you had any thoughts about what kind of poem you were going to write for our project," she responded almost concerned as though I'd somehow missed an important point she'd read and it was as if the way her brows scrunched together so tightly, I'd offended her in a way I know I'd never done before.

"N-no, no I haven't. What about a limerick? Can it be any kind of poem?" I asked while reaching for my tired English notebook and a pen to take notes with.

"Did you hear what I read, Eugene?" She asked, somewhat hurt. "We're doing the poems in free verse."

 _Oh boy,_ the red-haired young adult thought to himself.

Free verse, while a gorgeous cacophony of words when done correctly, had never been one of my strong suits. The only way I'd been making my way through their 8th grade poetry unit was on rhyme, song, and secret dance which was something free verse didn't allow me to do as a 'cheat.'

 _When there's no rhyming, there's no timing,_ my brain came up with and I scrunched up my own brows up into a tight orange squiggle across my forehead. "What were you doing yours on?"

"Well," she began while glancing down at the packet and flipping the page once more, "I was uh, I was sort of thinking about doing a uh, well, a love poem."

 _Love?_

"Love poem?" I repeated while sitting a bit straighter up than I had been previously sitting; my back muscles straining to sit tall on my bed, "Not on the environmental society that's been ignored since-" I began to reiterate like Sheena had done on many an occasion, but I was quickly cut off by her squeaking, shaky voice.

"I just thought it would be nice to do something different than I'm used to, I guess," she said hesitantly.

"Not because you're in love with somebody?" I pushed further, though it only added blush to Sheena's cheeks; something that didn't usually happen when Sheena and I were together.

 _What is she hiding from me?_ I begged myself; searching my skull for any sort of answer that could alleviate the struggle Sheena was putting me in with her apparent secret.

Sheena rolled her computer chair closer to me and offered up a sheepish grin. "Not so much of the word, maybe, but…" it was then that Sheena leaned into me to plant a small peck on my stunned lips. "Maybe it's time I thought about something, or somebody, else."

I sat frozen in my spot as she stared at me expectantly. _What was I to say? What was I to do? What if it were ME that she had the crush on?_

 _Oh no,_ I suddenly decided, a facial expression of concern probably coating my face directly in front of hers, _what if her love poem…is for ME?_

After staring for a moment, in panic almost, Sheena began to collect her things; something she never did with me around. Then again, Sheena had never kissed me before and that was, well, that was…different, that's all.

 _Different,_ I repeated in my head, though the word didn't feel like it fit the situation at hand.

"See you tomorrow for the reading?" She asked quickly and with a few nods of my spinning head, though she didn't seem to notice much, she smiled nonetheless, a big smile, and then retreated from our haven to leave me with the rest of the thoughts dancing in time inside my now baffled brain.

I knew what it was I had to write about, I just didn't want to have to try or even say it out loud.

I was going to write a love poem…or rather, a lack of love poem.

And it just might break Sheena's heart.

* * *

Late night tree climbing wasn't only something I wasn't allowed to do via my parent's call, but also as a rule of thumb. I'd been known to get stuck in trees plenty of times and while the fire department wasn't exactly _used_ to my calls, they were certainly ready when the moment struck; usually sending Will Sherman, their kindest and youngest at only 25, to my rescue. After all, it wasn't like Hillwood often had fires to put out and more had the needs of lost cats, caught toes in tubs and stuck Eugenes left smiling in trees

Today, however, was an exception to my rule and with as much silence as I could muster, I did the unthinkable— I snuck out.

Up there in the park tree, the height offered me some much-needed thought-time which I used to be able to look down at the world below in silent contemplation; something that was much needed after the events of the day.

And the events only continued.

As I shakily climbed the tree I'd been stuck in far too many times to count, each branch I used to pull myself up further gave me a strange sense of an adrenaline rush pumping through the my bloodstream, allowing me to reach higher into the park's tree than I'd ever been before- even higher than the day I managed to get both Harold and Arnold stuck up there with me.

But I didn't care. I knew I'd be alright and not just because I always am. I knew the cellphone in my pocket would save me when the time was right, and, within the blink of an eye, Will would be ready with his cherry picker to help me down yet again as he usually had since he first joined the department only a few years ago.

That didn't matter much, though. Seeing Will on a semi-weekly basis had become sort of a tradition for the two, whether Will saw it as that though was still to be determined, but it was a tradition nonetheless. Most everybody at the fire department knew me already, but it was Will who never made me feel like the klutz even _I_ knew I most certainly was. Knowing that Will would be the one to save me, yet again, somehow made my stomach kick itself repeatedly and even when I reached my ultimate destination in the branches, to no avail, my stomach seemed to flipflop repeatedly inside of me just knowing the eventual outcome.

 _But today wasn't about Will_ , I told myself, today was about figuring out how to tell Sheena the hardest thing I'd ever told her in our entire friendship together; that their friendship was only and ever would be just that- a friendship.

"ddBut how to do it," I muttered to himself while swinging my feet to and fro from the empty space beneath me, just below my bench-of-a-branch.

For nearly an hour I sat up in that tree watching the sunset and thinking up poorly written poetry still flitting about like restless birds inside my wracked and confused skull.

 _Maybe,_ I pondered with a purse of my lips in concentration, _maybe if I write a friendship poem she might take the hint. Maybe with some jazz flares and a good line or two, it doesn't have to feel like a rejection._

See, Sheena and I have been through everything together, well, most things. This, however, if I _was_ correct, was an entirely different story. Nobody had ever had a crush on me before and to be really honest, I didn't think _I'd_ even had a crush before in my entire life. Everything around me was new territory and it made this whole poem writing only all the more different and completely impossible.

 _Friendships are like trees_

 _With branches long and never ending_

 _Except for when they end_

 _Then the friendship—_

 _No, no, no,_ I thought, _it has to be so much better than that, Eugene. You don't want to cut her off completely._ My eyes suddenly widened. _Oh no,_ I suddenly said to myself in the inner workings of now paranoid thoughts, _branches DO end and what if, with my luck…_

The thoughts were overwhelming and my safe space from the trees was beginning to look more and more like bleak opportunities I'd surely mess up.

 _No, Eugene,_ I strongly told myself, though my voice inside my head still sounded unsure. _You can do this. It's only a poem and you are a creative, smart, and kind person who can get this right without destroying your friendship like these branches keep making you think you will. Your friendship is stronger than that. Your friendship is stronger than some little crush._

I glanced down at where I'd come from and began to pull out my phone from my pocket to place my 'please help me, it's Eugene and I'm stuck in a tree' call to the Sherriff's office, where they usually sent my call over directly over to the fire station.

 _I mean, it is, isn't it? We've been through so much together maybe she's confusing our friendship for a crush, that's it,_ I continued to think in a flurry of thoughts as I dialed the number saved in my phone. But as my luck would have it, the moment I pressed call, the phone slipped from my fingers as if a mouse were escaping my freckled hands and as much as I fumbled, nothing could stop it from heralding down through the tree branches to land onto the plush grass beneath me; freshly cut from this morning.

"Oh no, oh gosh, oh _crap_ ," I said aloud as I stared at the phone staring up at me as the call continued. Panicked, I began to yell from where I was in hopes they could hear me and send Will to come save me yet again.

"Hello?!" I hollered from up in the treetops. "Hello? Can anyone hear me?" Starting to worry but still sure somebody could hear me, I yelled louder out while leaning away from the tree towards my downward call. "It's Eugene. Eugene Horowitz. I'm uh… I'm stuck in a tree! … Again…" I added shamefully, now feeling the loss of all adrenaline that had once propelled me up so high in the first place.

"Eugene?" A voice called out from beyond the tree and dumbfoundedly, I stared wide eyed at my phone below.

"You can hear me?" I asked what I assumed was the receptionist, though a surprising figure came into light just where my phone lay helpless underneath me.

"Probably not your phone," Will said while reaching down to pick up my now lost call, "but I could hear ya, Eugene. Stuck in the tree again, I see?"

Blush began to fill in my freckled cheeks, and I nodded my head a couple of times; my eyes fixated on that of Will with his yellow lab Fritzel on the leash he was holding onto. "Heh heh, yeah, sort of. You're off duty tonight then?"

Will shifted between his two feet as Fritzel stared up at me in my branched prison. "Just got off, actually, but, seeing as you're stuck up there and all," he began before I tried to stop him from his next statement.

"No, no, before you finish, I want you to know I'm…I'm quite happy up here."

"Really," Will stated with a cock of his brow. "You're perfectly fine up in the tree at 8pm."

"Yep. Totally fine. Positive. I'll get myself down when I'm ready." I responded trying to sound confident though Will saw right through me.

With ease, he bent down to pick up my phone from the ground and wiggled it in his hand for me to see up in the tree; a grin covering his tanned face. "And calling us was your plan for getting down now, wasn't it, Eugene?"

I sighed, knowing my jig was up. I could sing and dance my way through almost anything but when it came to lying, it was something that I was just not good enough at. "Um," I started while chewing on my lower lip and swinging my feet back and forth in nervousness, "yeah-yeah. That was sort of my plan, _but,_ but I'll be okay. I climbed up here, didn't I?"

"Eugene, we both know you can't climb down without falling and breaking something like a few months ago."

 _Not true,_ I wanted to counter back, but even my scurried thoughts knew that would also be a lie as I was only still recovering from the arm break that nearly kept me out of school had it not been for Sheena's double note-taking skills.

But before I could answer, Will had already turned around and was walking away.

"Will? Where-where are you going?"

"To get the cherry picker, of course," he answered from over his shoulder; Fritzel running further ahead of him on the leash as if to lead the way.

 _To get the cherry picker, of course,_ his words rang in my ears and a smile spread across my face as I sat content in the tree.

Will was coming back for me and for some reason, my heart couldn't stop it's excited dance inside my chest as I waited for him to save me yet again.

* * *

 _ **Hope you all liked this chapter for there is more to come! (this will probably amount to an either twoshot or threeshot) and I can't wait to read your reviews! Please send me one and let me know what you think!**_

 _ **-Polka**_


	2. A Hop, Skip and a Jump

"So are you ready to go over our poems? Together?" Sheena asked me the next day as we sat in my room yet again after school.

"Well, how-how about you do yours fi-first," I stuttered out as I clutched my poem in my hands and stared at Sheena; awaiting and anticipating her reaction to my suggestion with a heartbeat ramming into my chest faster than a jackrabbit's.

"Why?" She asked with a cock of her head, "You always want to go first," she stated with a flat line across her lips. Glancing around herself as if somebody might hear, she then leaned into me and whispered, "Are you scared because of yesterday?"

The lump in my throat grew to the size of a melon and I swallowed with challenge before shaking my head and squeaking out, "Nope, no problem at all. I'm great. Swell. I'd love to read my poem first."

Sheena grinned and reached out to put a hand on my shoulder; her touch made me nearly jump back in fear—for what reason I couldn't quite peg.

There were a lot of things to be afraid of, but the touch of a best friend shouldn't be in that category, I believed. And yet here I was, confused, for whatever reason, all because of some touch. She asked if I was scared because of yesterday's kiss and to be honest, I _was_ scared because of it. It meant she wanted more from me that _I_ knew I just couldn't give to her. And the worst part about it all was that I had no reason as to why.

"No, Eugene, let me go first, okay? It's no problem and I'd really, _really¸_ like to read mine to you before you read yours."

 _Oh no, please don't just start…_

"But Sheena—"

She cleared her throat and straightened her paper before beginning anyway and making my heart jump far down into my stomach.

"I worked really hard on this so please don't be too analytical of me," she precoursed before going on, despite my everything hoping that she wouldn't. "So here goes nothing," she added before straightening her spine and setting the tone I wished she'd stop dead in her tracks with. "This is entitled, _Because of You_."

 _Oh boy…_

"Roses have thorns yet you have none

It inspires me beyond words and rips off each of my own thorns

To throw away each day

Because of you.

Though most stay within their sea of people

I swam through them all just to see the safe shore

Where you await with open arms

I could do it, because of you.

Were it not for your voice, I could not speak

Were it not for your love, I could not love

I could not love…you

If it weren't all because of you."

Silence entered the room as she finished and I stared at her wide-eyed knowing my poem was going to be everything she didn't want to hear. Flustered, I gave her no feedback and began to just read her my own poem, balls to the wall some say.

"Mine uh, it has no title. So it's… _Untitled,_ " I said before rushing to read through the words I'd written down mere hours ago it seemed.

"What do you do when you aren't in love

When you can't feel love

Like all the rest?

What do you do when you can't force yourself to love

As deeply,

As hard as the one you love the most and yet somehow, do not.

What do you do when you want to say everything but decide on nothing at all

Like words dancing around your head doing pirouettes over and over

As though my world has been flipped upside down

All because of a kiss.

What do you do when you aren't in love, but should be

When you want to love, but just can't

When you should be in love, but you just aren't

Nothing. You do nothing. But as always, you hope for the best."

Glancing up shakily from my poem, I saw tears building in Sheena's eyes as she'd seen right through my poor efforts at free verse poetry. "Eugene…I—"

"No, please, Sheena, let me explain—"

"No need to, Eugene," she said in a huff before collecting all of her stuff from my room and tossing it into her bag, "I understand everything and-and-and I was a f-fool to think otherwise," she said while looking over to the poem she'd written that was still lying on the ground.

With a grind of her teeth, she picked up the poem, balled it up and threw it directly at me where it hit me in the eye and forced me to reach up and rub at it. "Sheena! Wait!" I yelled through the pain of being shot at directly from the corner of the paper ball.

"Why bother," she responded as she made it to my door and opened it; then said, "you've said all you need to say, Eugene. I get it."

And with that, she left me in my room alone with the poetry of our hearts balled up and now tossed into my garbage can.

* * *

Dinner was always a big deal around my house ever since I can remember. Mom slaved away in the kitchen each night to prepare a big meal which we would sit around and enjoy together. Being an only child, I set the table each night while dad relaxed on his chair after his long day of work. Then, like magic, once food was ready and everything was set, we all flocked to the table to discuss our days, usually with high optimism despite our average class home.

Most days, dinner was my favorite part of the day.

Today, however, was not one of those days.

I sat quietly in my spot playing with my mom's infamous corn casserole— one of my favorites –and sighed repeatedly to myself until my mom noticed something was just a bit off in me, her only son.

"Eugene, sweetie, you've hardly touched your cornbake, are you alright?" She asked while leaning over the table to put a cool hand atop my slightly flushed forehead. "You aren't running a fever," she stated before returning to her spot and staring at me with anticipation.

"I'm okay," I settled on; my usual answer for most things.

"Your mother is right," dad said while chewing on some of his roast beef. "You seem like something is bothering you, son."

"Does this have to do with Sheena leaving so early tonight?" Mom finally asked; Sheena's name making the lump in my throat grow once again, just as I'd thought it'd left me alone. "The poor girl usually eats with us on Tuesdays, but she seemed very upset. Did you two get into an argument?"

Both my parents watched me as I shrugged and continued to push my food back and forth on my plate while holding my head up with my opposite hand. "I think Sheena might…might have a crush on me."

My parents glanced between themselves before returning to me and smiling. "Well that's great!" My mom exclaimed, "My Eugene and his first girlfriend… you didn't break up already did you?"

I shook my head, "It isn't _like_ that it's… it's—"

"You don't feel that way about her, do you, son?" My dad asked and I shook my head once again, almost ashamed of my answer.

"And you told her this?" Mom questioned while taking in a bite of cornbake.

"You didn't do a song for her, did you?" Dad asked with slight fear in his voice but I shook my head some more and sighed.

"It was for a poetry assignment. I read her mine and she, well, she didn't like it to say the least." I admitted finally; the food on my plate seeming unappetizing to me for the first time in ages.

"Well sweetie," mom started, "all you can do is let her sit on it; I'm sure she will be over it in a few days. Crushes don't typically last that long in kids your age. Don't let yourself worry about it."

"Mom? Dad?" I asked suddenly, their eyes turning to focus on me as I called for their attention. "What if I'm…. different. What if I don't fall in love like everybody else." I stated rather than asked, and my dad nearly spit out his food.

"No, Eugene, you'll fall in love one day, don't you worry about that," he said before retrying to eat after a slight coughing spell.

"But why can't I just fall in love with Sheena? Why can't I just return her feelings?"

"Because feelings don't work that way, my dear," mom said with sympathy in her voice, "One day you'll find _your_ first crush and when you do, your life will make sense, it just might not be with Sheena. After all, she _is_ your best friend and sometimes when friends are that close, one feels things the other will not. It's completely normal."

"So I'm completely normal?" I pushed; my parents exchanging a look before my dad finally answered my question.

"Of course, Eugene. Any feelings you have are completely normal. Always. Now how about we try some of that delicious cornbake your mother made for us, alright?"

* * *

Days went and turned into weeks without Sheena talking to me. I spent most days in the cafeteria alone while I watched Sheena with our friend group laughing and enjoying her lunch hour. What was so wrong with me that I couldn't suck it up and try to talk to her first? Why couldn't I talk to my best friend?

Because she didn't want to talk to me, that's why.

"And it's all really confusing because we've been best friends since we were babies," I told Will as he helped me from the gutter I'd gotten my foot stuck into on the side of the sidewalk. "But now, all because of the poems and feelings and all, she wants nothing to do with me."

"Hmm," he hummed while wiggling my foot out of its hole to freedom where I rolled my ankle and breathed a sigh of relief. "That sounds like quite the predicament you've gotten into."

"Yeah," I said before glancing down at my feet- the one dirtier than the other after its guttural adventure.

"Look, Eugene," Will said while escorting me off the side of the road and to a nearby bench where we sat down at, side by side. "Most of my life I was bullied for being different colored than most of my peers. They used to throw stones at me during recess and call me awful nicknames as I walked down the hallway," he began; my heart already palpitating at each word he spoke.

"That's awful," I said, deciding to leave out that I _liked_ his natural, smooth, and creamy tan skin tone.

"It sure was," he agreed with a nod of his head. "But like you, I had a friend who always had my back and never strayed from my side, only he was a guy named Mason."

"Okay," I stated, silently begging for him to go on.

"Now seeing as Mason and I were always together, my classmates decided to start a really mean rumor that I was—"

"Gay?" I finished for him, and he pursed his lips while nodding his head in silent frustration.

"Yea, and that really bothered Mason because he _was_ gay, he just didn't know it yet. Hell, _I_ didn't even know it until he developed a crush on me for some reason."

I stared at Will, watching his every move as he talked. I found myself focusing on his lips as they formed each word, no matter what it was, even though I was listening intently.

"On you?"

"On me," he said with a slight smile. "It was flattering, very much so, but I just didn't return those feelings for him like he had for me. So I told him."

"And what happened?" I asked, hanging on his every word.

He stood up from the bench and turned around to offer me his hand, "he was hurt, that's for sure, but he understood after a while and came back to me. As my friend."

I looked at his hand and took note of the way each finger fell into place inside his bright yellow fire suit's gloves. With hesitance, I reached out and took it as he helped me stand.

"Are you both still friends today?" I asked while eyeing him up and down as he took his hat off to wipe some sweat away.

"Great friends," he answered with a proud smile. "I went to his wedding last fall."

"So it all ended up okay? Even though you didn't share his feelings?" I asked, yearning for any kind of answer that would help me with my inner plight at the feelings I did and didn't share.

"It always does, Eugene, doesn't it? You of all people should know that, I'd think." He said with a wink that nearly had me dizzy where I stood.

 _Why was he making me so flustered?_ I began to ask myself as I reacted to his every word and movement. _He's just a firefighter who happens to always save you, that's all. Why, Eugene… were you expecting something more?_

* * *

 _What am I supposed to do_ I found myself thinking while walking to school rather than take the bus. It hurt too much to see Sheena ignore me from the moment she saw me to the moment the bell rang. So rather than ride my bike and face horrible consequence from fate, I decided to walk my way to school— all 10 blocks.

Walking 10 blocks gives you a lot of time to think though.

 _What am I supposed to do,_ my mind kept racing with each step I took on the hard cement beneath me. _Who even am I if I don't feel like that with Sheena or…anyone_ I kept thinking though one image kept coming to my mind.

Will.

The fiendishly good-looking fireman who has nothing to do with me other than saving my life a couple handful of times.

I found that beneath my eyelids, it was his dark black hair that shone with slight gel to hold it in place even after he took his hat off that greeted me. In my mind, I couldn't help but remember the way his blue eyes glimmered each time he offered to help me out of the tree I'd been stuck in more times than I could count. It was everything about him that I couldn't shake from my mind as I walked the sidewalk; my vision clouded by daydreams so much so that I managed to walk right into the nearby construction zone.

But Will— I couldn't stop thinking about Will; his smooth, tanned skin that coated his face and body, the sparkle in his smile that for some reason made my heart race. He plagued my mind and it was no wonder I nearly fell into an open manhole as I'd wandered off the sidewalk and through the war-of-a-construction-zone.

"Wo-o-oah!" I hollered while waving my hands wildly like I were a flightless bird in an effort to gain some sense of balance; my toes threatening to fall forward and plunge me into the depths of the sewers where I'd only been once before.

Yet by some divine intervention, my feet fell flat under me and I steadied myself at the lip of the earth's hole. "Phew!" I sighed in relief while wiping my forehead and yet focusing down below at the bottom of the manhole's mouth.

 _If I just…_ I thought while wiggling my toes towards the hole before shaking my head. _No, no, no, Eugene. Not a good idea. Getting stuck in a manhole is not on your to-do list this morning._

 _Although…_ I began to think while leaning forward just slightly. _I could get Sheena's attention. She'd be worried and-and—_

I shook my head again and leaned back on my heels. "Not today, Eugene…" I said before plunging myself into the manhole feet-first; possibly the bravest thing I'd ever done.

Brave, because I'd never jumped feet first into anywhere before.

Brave, because I didn't know what I was getting into.

Brave, because I knew today wasn't the day that I should chicken out on a crazy plan.

Not this kid, and not when I knew that no matter what, no matter what happened next, I would be okay.

* * *

 _ **Hello all, i hope you're enjoying this fic so far as the next chappie will be the last and also come along with a gorgeous cover done by some lovely ladies I'll name later ;)**_

 _ **please review and let me know what you think as this story isn't getting much feedback which honestly scares me. I long to know what you all think and hope you like it! I've worked really hard on this and hope it is the Eugene fic you never knew you wanted until now.**_

 _ **See you at the next chapter!**_

 _ **-Polka**_

 _ **(side note, please remember these are 14 year old kids. they are discovering themselves and also their poetry isn't Helga G. Pataki poetry. just sayin' before it gets brought up :D )**_


	3. Sweet Understanding, Eugene's my Friend

" _I can't believe Rhonda's origami marriage predictor was wrong," Sheena squeaked with disappointment as we walked off the bus and headed towards P.S 118. Today was an especially sunny day and I could feel the heat on my back which mildly worried me for recess as I believed I'd just ran out of sunblock; not a single one of my cares on Rhonda's origami marriage predicter._

 _Especially on Rhonda's origami marriage predicter._

 _Mostly because the idea of marrying Sheena seemed… odd to me. There was something about that idea that really put me off. Sheena was my best friend and didn't really seem like she could ever be my_ wife _. In fact, the more that I thought about it, I couldn't see myself marrying anybody in particular, especially Sheena._

" _I can, it's just a piece of paper after all, Sheena," I said nonchalantly, while trying to remain positive despite my inward conflicted feelings._

" _Oh but Eugene, can't you imagine it?" She asked before adding, "wouldn't a life together just be absolutely a dream?"_

A dream? _I thought to myself._ More like a bad dream.

 _I could see it all, sure, but what I saw felt miserable. I could see Sheena, slaving away like my own mother to make dinner for me after I came home from a job I truly hated, perhaps an accountant or something. I saw all my dreams of Broadway completely lost to the years I'd wasted with homemakery to a household I didn't want to be a part of. I saw a tired, modest house that I could hardly call home, but most of all I saw Sheena as my_ wife _; something I wasn't sure I saw any female completely filling the role of, especially her. How could she want that? How could anybody want the life I saw through Sheena's eyes?_

 _Apparently, Sheena wanted all of that, but 9-year-old me wasn't quite as convinced._

 _Could I want all that? Would I really want all that some day?_

I stared ahead at the dark sewers now engulfing me if it weren't for the light beaming down above me like the spotlight on a dark and empty stage; the stage of that which we call life. Glancing to my right before my left, I realized just what it was that I'd done.

"Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no," I chanted as the words echoed back to me through the tunnels I'd plunged myself into.

Oh no, _I thought,_ oh no, oh no, oh no. _I really_ was _out of sunblock, I discovered when opening my locker before recess and sighed while shutting it closed in disappointment. I knew how unkind the sun was to my skin and I knew that recess wouldn't prove to be any kinder to me what with the weather. After all of my nightly skin moisturizing processes I'd done with Sheena, it seemed that my freckled skin would take a step backwards thanks to the ever-brightening sun._

 _Either way, today was a good day because the sun was shining and any day the sun was shining was a good day for me, even if I discovered Sheena sitting on a bench outside crying._

" _Sheena?" I called out while walking towards her and sitting beside her on the bench; my hand reaching out to gently rest on her left shoulder blade as she turned away from me. "Sheena, are you okay? What happened?"_

" _Eugene!" She shuddered from me before rapidly wiping her reddened face and offering a fake smile my way. "I-I'm sorry I was just," she sniffled dramatically before clearing her throat three times, "…allergies."_

" _But Sheena, you don't…_ have _allergies._ I _have allergies. You_ love _nature," I said while trying to get her to turn her head to me. Sheena had never been so sly with her feelings around me, it's one of the things I liked most about her and one of the reasons she was such a great friend for me. Had it not been for Sheena, the only women in my life would be my mom, Barbra, Patti and Bernadette. I couldn't even imagine what life would be like on the playground without my amazon friend to save me from life on multiple occasions— including a bully or two._

" _Sheena, did you hear me?" I asked while Sheena sniffled and shook her head in almost shame._

" _I guess I was just so excited about Rhonda's marriage predictor that I kind of got my hopes up," she finally admitted and shrugged. "I guess you're right , Eugene, it really is just a piece of paper. I'm foolish to think anything more could come of it."_

" _Now c'mon Sheena and wipe those eyes. Don't make me bust out into 'Suddenly Seymour,'" I joked while rubbing her back softly. "maybe, I mean, maybe_ one _day it'll happen or…_ could _happen but you're only 9 years old and marriage is a long ways away, don't you think?"_

" _Yea, I guess so," she stated rather unconvinced._

Suddenly, feeling panicked at my rather impulsive decision, I remembered my phone in my back pocket of my pants. Desperately taking it out, I held it up to illuminate the sewers I was now in and glanced up from where I'd come.

I turned my phone around to make my regular call to the Sherriff's line, but as luck would have it, I had no bars or any service for that matter, what with how far down under the ground that I was.

"Darnit," I grumbled to myself while sighing and putting my phone back in my pocket. It was time to take extreme measures in the situation I'd placed myself.

" _That's the spirit, Sheena," I said with a grin and a nudge of my elbow. "Look on the bright side, at the very least, you'll always have me as your best friend, so it isn't like I'm going anywhere."_

" _I-I guess you're right, but one day we will get older—"_

" _Naturally, yes," I responded, though she continued._

"— _and eventually we may not see each other any more—"_

" _I think you may be stretching this a bit…" But on she continued without stopping._

"— _and that's something you can't promise me. That we'll never_ not _be friends."_

 _Reaching out to put a hand on each of her shoulders and make her look me dead in the eyes, I smiled a big grin and said, "No matter what, Sheena, we'll_ always _be friends. I promise."_

" _Promise?" She asked, though I'd already answered._

 _Despite that, I answered anyway and nodded my head. "Yes, I promise. Only as long as_ you _promise."_

 _Sheena chuckled and wiped away the last of her tears from her cheeks. "Of course I promise, Eugene."_

"Help!" I screamed at the top of my lungs upwards towards the manhole opening, "Hello! There's someone down here!" But every echo was only accompanied with silence and it became clear to me that I'd really gotten myself stuck in a predicament like being stuck in peanut butter.

The chunky kind.

* * *

After a few hours of waiting, I really began to realize that nobody was coming for me, or would even stumble upon me by accident like any normal day when I'm stuck in a tree.

It isn't like I'd ever been stuck in a sewer before. Who would think to come look for a teenager in a sewer of all places? Screaming for help or not?

It must have been an hour in before I began to stop yelling and switched to soft-shoeing in the green water covering my feet. After all, what else was there to do? On the bright side, I _was_ missing an entire day of school so by no means was I going to waste it, and practicing my soft-shoe tap dancing skills seemed like an excellent way to spend my day lost in the underground.

"When life gives you lemons," I began to softly sing while tapping my feet in time underneath the water in time with the steps in my head, "dance…" I did a shuffle, cross and spun around once before sighing and continuing with my song. "Dance like there's a muskrat in your pants…"

" _Oh Eugene!" Sheena squealed the moment I walked offstage from Eugene, Eugene!'s finale. "You were so wonderful!"_

 _Giving her a tight hug, I cried tears of joy into her shoulder, "I know! I didn't think Arnold's plan was going to work but, but," I pulled back from her and squeezed the biceps of her arms, "it felt AMAZING!" I stage whispered before laughing and hugging her once more. "Gosh, I've never felt a high like this before in my entire life!"_

" _I know! They absolutely loved you, Eugene. You were meant for this!"_

" _Meant for this, really? You think so? Acting… and singing—" But Sheena was quick to finish my sentence for me._

" _And dancing! Oh Eugene, you've got it all! You're a triple threat and a star AND my best friend," she said with tears in her eyes. "I'm so proud of you."_

" _Me? I'm so proud of YOU with all these costumes and all the hard work you put into the set. Between the two of us, we're a force to be reckoned with, that's for sure."_

"Strike your most spirited stance and dance," kick, ball change, twist, twist, jazz hands, down. I chanted the words in my head like a masterful dancer and continued to sing, my confidence bursting forth despite my current situation. 1, 2, 3, 4 full body skiing, jump cross jump heel, jump cross jump heal, "Dance," soft graze, double heels out and swing the arms up, "Dance!" I belted, my voice ricocheting off of the walls around me in the perfect acoustic any Broadway-baby would die for.

"Is somebody down there?" A voice called up from above and it took me a moment to realize my very talent may have just saved my own life.

"H-Hello?" I called up in curiosity to see if my mind and ears were playing sick pranks on me.

"Oh my- oh my god, I'll get some help you just hang on tight in there kid, alright?" The voice said before leaving me yet again by myself to soft-shoe while I yet again waited for the help I definitely needed.

 _Maybe Will is going be the one to come save me,_ my selfish thoughts wondered before I shook my head and widened my eyes. _Oh gosh,_ I thought, _I hope Sheena knows I'm okay, what with me never missing a day of school, she must be worried, even if she_ is _mad at me…_

My thoughts ran rapid for the next probable hour before help arrived for me. I could hear commotion starting from up above, and I could only imagine the crowd growing to see the little boy trapped in the sewers get freed and go home happily ever after.

I just wished they'd go away.

This wasn't some act in a play or some musical number waiting to happen, this was my actual life and not just some character's. Sometimes I wished, however, that my life _was_ just some musical up on a stage. Maybe it would be easier to handle all my feelings and emotions if I had songs about them to help me through them.

Acting truly was my greatest joy in life, but mostly because Eugene could disappear for an hour or two and whoever I was playing could just take over. I could l literally become anybody that I wanted to be and for those glorious moments, I felt free. For those moments that the audience cheered, I felt like a bird freed from its cage to soar into the sky.

It was like somehow I didn't know myself unless I _wasn't_ myself. It made my life seem like something was missing or rather, _I_ was missing from it. Somehow in my 14 years I felt like I lost myself or like I wasn't being truly honest with myself.

Honest about what though, I still wasn't sure.

" _Hey, look who it is," Harold said the moment Sheena and I entered the bus, "Sheena the fag hag and the fag himself, Eugene."_

 _Sheena grinded her teeth and glared at Harold before I put a kind hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Sheena. Let him think what he thinks."_

" _But you aren't a fag, Eugene. And I'm certainly not a fag hag, whatever that is." She responded with tenacity in her tone as we took our usual front seat of the bus; avoiding Harold and his friends at all costs._

 _Since middle school, our group of friends had burst at the seams and split off into new directions. Rhonda and Nadine made up that of the popular girls in our grade while Harold and his new football friends made up the jocks. Sheena and myself were still the outcasts with our drama club, and Phoebe became really involved with the Science League and all their competitions. Gerald fit with the jocks logically, but never treated me as a 'fag' and Arnold was, well, Arnold. He hopped around from one place to the next, even if Helga was right at his side since they'd become good friends after our San Lorenzo trip back at P.S 118._

 _Either way, Harold had proved this fact even more so with his cruel jokes about my being gay, and even if that_ were _true, which I didn't know and that slightly bothered me, there was no reason to treat a fellow human being that way and his terms made my skin crawl just to hear them._

 _But I had to stay positive. Whatever reasoning Harold had for being so mean to me was all his own and I didn't know what that reason was. So who was I to stop him if bullying me was something he felt he needed to do to feel good about himself?_

 _Sheena didn't agree with my reasoning._

" _It's just not right," she said with a shake of her head, "to call you all those names he calls you. You aren't gay."_

" _Mmm," was my answer as I didn't know how to say what my inner thoughts were screaming at me: to tell her that might not be true, the whole me not being gay thing that is._

 _But now wasn't the time for an existential crisis._

Now wasn't the time for an existential crisis. I knew somebody was on their way to save me, probably Will, but hearing Harold from up above made me ball my hands into fists of anger just hearing his voice.

"I bet it's that gay klutzo, Eugene. Only _he'd_ get stuck in a sewer!" He shouted, probably knowing I could hear everything he was saying. It was one thing to talk smack in a fun way like Helga had adjusted to, but the way Harold treated me was completely different. There was no fun or subtly in his comments, only hate.

But before I could get too angry, the shadow of somebody coming down the sewer stopped me; it was the silhouette that I couldn't get out of my mind— that of Will, the strikingly good-looking fireman who had come to save me yet again.

"Eugene," he said with a dashing smile I could see only from the light of the manhole, "I had a feeling it might be you down here."

I shrugged while blushing slightly; blood rushing to my cheeks as if in a desperate race, "Guilty as charged. Sorry to bother you… again."

Will only chuckled and offered me a hand that I took instantly as he helped me from where I was standing in the sewer. "It's no worries, Eugene. I'm only missing a wicked game of poker is all."

My brows furrowed together in concern, "Gosh, I'm sorry—" but Will cut me off with a wink.

"It's not a problem, really. I was losing anyway," he said with a smirk before calling up to his fellow firemen waiting for Will's word up on the ground. "Go ahead and let it down! I got him!"

Slowly, a long cable tied into what looked like a lasso came down; the cranking of gears the only thing I could hear from where everybody was patiently waiting to see the kid who got stuck in the sewers. Obviously more of my classmates were there besides Harold and the other random seers, but I hoped Sheena was there too.

I really hoped Sheena was there. I couldn't take much more of her being angry with me for something I couldn't control; especially my feelings which were blossoming for someone other than her.

"Alright Eugene," Will said while putting one foot in the loop of the cable like a stirrup and gripped hold of the line leading up to safety, "I'm gonna have you stick your foot in this loop just like me, okay?"

I glanced at the cables and back at him. "I-I'm not so sure…"

"Trust me, kid, this is gonna be a cinch. Just put your foot here next to mine—"

I did as instructed, "Okay…" I said tentatively.

"Then skooch into me a bit," he said while gripping me at my sides to hold onto me tightly while holding onto the cable with just as much strength.

"O-okay," I stuttered, his touch making my nerves go wild like hidden fireworks underneath my skin.

"And we're just going to come up nice and easy, like the cherry picker, okay?" His words meant nothing to me as I breathed in the hint of his cologne that made me woozy, yet, slightly intrigued.

"Huh-I mean, wha—!" I didn't get the chance to finish as the cable jerked suddenly to send Will and I up through where I came down willingly so many hours ago.

Slowly we came up out of the sewer and it became clear to me that there were more people watching in the first place than I had originally imagined. Their eyes followed us as we emerged from the sewage and a roaring round of applause busted out the moment that we stepped out of the makeshift stirrup and onto the pavement.

"See Eugene?" Will said with a smile and his hands planted on either side of his hips, "Nothing to it."

"Will! William Boscko!" A voice from afar came through the crowd in another fire department's uniform. "It's happening! It's happening!"

I glanced around myself to see who was calling for Will at a time like this, only to overhear the conversation part of me had been hoping I'd never one day hear.

"Your wife, Will, she just went into labor!"

 _Wife?_

"Oh my—oh my god, I uh, where do I, what do I…?" He asked while actively searching around himself for something he clearly didn't have.

With a sad smile, I reached up to put a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you so much for saving my life Will, but," I took a deep breath and sighed, "you gotta go to your wife. She needs you."

"My wife!" He said as if I'd found the very thing he'd been looking for. "And you're welcome, Eugene. Any time. But now, I'm gonna be a dad!" He said at the top of his lungs before near dancing off stage right in the direction of the hospital.

I watched as he left; watched the way his uniform hugged his figure at certain spots and watched the excitement in his step at the news of his first born child soon to be on the way. I could only imagine how happy he was when they first found out, and yet, why hadn't he told me?

An overwhelming feeling of sadness took over me then— one I couldn't shake no matter how hard I tried. _Why Eugene?_ I asked myself. _What were you expecting anyway?_

"Eugene?!" A shrieking voice yelled from the crowd before running directly into me and picking me up in a tight squeeze.

By the smell of her chakra spray no. 4 mixed with the essential oils of peace and calming, I knew it was Sheena.

"Oh Eugene!" She exclaimed before setting me back down on my feet, "I am so sorry about being angry with you over something as trivial as a crush," she apologized with a sad smile. "I just got so caught up in my feelings, I never thought to think of yours or our friendship that I guess I just lost control."

"It's really okay, Sheena," I said while looking back in the direction Will had disappeared off in. "Trust me, I know the feeling."

"Are you okay, Eugene?" She asked while setting a hand on my shoulder which brought me back to reality. "You seem… lost."

"Not lost just…" but my voice trailed off it wasn't long before I realized maybe I _was_ lost. I couldn't explain the feelings I had for Will but had no other for other people. I couldn't explain why I felt that way or how or when it even began. All I could manage was a sigh and then in a somber voice, "I'm okay."

"Well Mr. Okay," Sheena said with pep in her voice, "how about we go back to your place and talk about life, huh? How you've been since I did what I did. Plus, I bet your parents have been worried sick."

I shrugged my shoulders not thinking much of it. "Sure, Sheena. You lead the way."

* * *

"And up next," the reporter on the television in my room said, "Jessica Fratzmen has all the details on how a 14-year-old boy got stuck in the sewers for over 8 hours. Jessica?"

"Eugene!" Sheena said while rushing to get the remote and turn up the volume. "They're talking about you on the news!"

"The news?" I questioned while watching the tv in intent concentration.

"Thank you Rob," Jessica Fratzmen said to the camera while holding her microphone in her hands and standing just next to the site where I plunged down into the manhole opening. "I'm here with the chief of the fire department, Andrew Klink, to gain some insight on what exactly happened today. Andrew," the reporter turned to look at the man in his uniform standing straight as a needle with a smile on his face. "How exactly does a teenager, or anyone for that matter, get stuck so far underneath our city and for so long?"

"Well," Andrew said confidently, "it appears that the construction site in question where Eugene Horowitz—"

"Hey! That's me!" I exclaimed while Sheena shushed me.

"—fell was just getting a makeover in the latter department. Unfortunately for him, the posts down below of the city used to climb back up were removed for safety matters and were to be replaced the following day."

I sighed and shook my head. _Just my luck_ , I thought, _no wonder I couldn't find a way back up. But then again, even if I had, would I have used them, or just played dumb so I could see Will? And Sheena? Did that make me selfish? Have I turned into a selfish person all over a married fireman with a child on the way?_

Lost in my thoughts, it was the sound of the reporter ending her news report that brought me back into reality.

"—and that is one brave fireman you have on the department, Andrew. Back to you, Rob." I grabbed the remote and turned off the television in haste, knowing just what I was about to do.

"You didn't want to see the story about the dogs up next? I know you're allergic but—"

"Sheena, I need to talk to you," the words blurted out of me without thought and I struggled to finish my sentence. "I mean, we uh, I'd like to have, some… I just gotta get something off my chest."

Twisting around to face me, Sheena smiled and nodded her head with her full attention now on me. "Sure, Eugene. Is something bothering you?"

I glanced down at my hands which were shaking slightly though I couldn't explain why. A surge of energy was passing through me and I couldn't control the words coming out of my mouth anymore. "You know all those names people call me at school? Harold and all of them?"

Sheena furrowed her brow in frustration while nodding her head. "Yeah, what about them?"

"Well," _deep breaths, deep breaths,_ I thought to myself as the words continued to pour out without thought to how I'd say what was on my mind. "What if one of those things, the things they call me, what if it's true?"

"What if what's true?" She asked quizzically as if not following where I was going with this particular conversation.

"The fact that," I started while trying to get hold of my bearings, "the fact that…" I tried again before taking a deep breath and forcing the words out of me. "The fact that I'm gay."

Silence surrounded us then as Sheena digested what I'd just told her. I watched in agony as I waited for her response; each second passing feeling like hours as I waited beside her on my bed.

"Wow, um," she started before shaking her head in confusion at what I'd finally had the courage to admit to her and myself. Out loud. "You uh… you think you're gay?"

"I know I'm gay," the words came out without my brain saying so and I couldn't fight the feeling of butterflies growing inside my belly to fly wildly inside of me.

I wasn't talking with my brain anymore— I was talking with my heart; something I'd never before done until now. I'd always shut out the thoughts and questions of who I was and why the term 'gay' bothered me so much because, well, I was. And it took falling down under the city to finally realize it all.

"And how did you uh… figure that out?" She asked hesitantly as if trying not to break a fragile statue like I'd become while sitting beside her.

"Will. The uh- the fireman that saved me. He—"

"You have a crush on a fireman?" She asked in wonder before grinning and continuing. "Talk about a good first crush. Mine was you but then in between I had a thing for that substitute teacher Mr. Bolls."

I chuckled, "Even though everybody called him Mr. Balls?"

She put her fists on her hips and turned to me. "Eugene that is horrible nickname. He was much better than that."

I shrugged and finally nodded. "He certainly had good looks to him, that's for sure. And his voice—"

"Oh his voice!" Sheena shrilled at the mention of it. "He had the most beautiful sounding voice. Baritones have quite the attractiveness in them, no matter the looks."

"What's my excuse then?" I asked and she laughed.

"You're different, Eugene," she stated and I sighed and looked down at my hands before her hand found its way to my shoulder. "A good different. Gay or not, you're still my best friend and I'm just glad to have you back."

I smiled her way and looked down again before returning my gaze to hers. "Thank you, Sheena, I'm glad to be back too. And to-to be myself. Finally."

"And besides," she said with a wicked smile on her face, "now I finally have somebody I can talk about boys with." She gave me a wink and I laughed out loud.

"Yes, yes I suppose you do now, don't you?"

And that was it. Just like that, she accepted me and when it came down to telling my parents, she was right by my side— literally –as they too accepted me without fail like they'd always done my entire life.

It seemed that I was gay and maybe that was okay.

No, it _was_ okay because I was Eugene Horowitz, grade-A klutz and grade-A gay, and I was finally able to see that I really was, at least this time, okay.

* * *

 _ **Well folks, that's it until next time. I hope you enjoyed this fic and please be a doll and leave me a review- i would love to know what you thought of this fic!**_

 _ **-Polka**_


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